Freight-truck



(No Model..)

J. DIXON 8x5. B. RHODES.

I FREIGHT TRUCK. N0.'321,802. Patented'July 7, 1885...

NITED STATES JOHN DIXON AND ELVET B. RHODES, OF \VEST BADEN, INDIANA.

FREIGHT-TRUCK.

SPEGIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 321,802, dated July 7, 1885.

Application filed May 9, 1885. (No model.)

T 0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOHN DIXON and EL- Vn'r B. RHoDEs, both residents of West Baden, in the county of Orange and State of Indiana, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Trucks for Transferring Freights; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the in vention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and ring freight; and. it consists in the improved construction and combination of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the drawings, A A indicate the sills, which are supplied with suitable bearings for small wheels B. Between these sills are secured two transverse beams, O 0. Beam 0 has an upright, D, secured to its middle, the upper end of which is forked and provided with bearings for the small grooved sheave E.

F is the platform, which is provided on its under side with boxes for a pair of bearings, G G, the ends of which are bent to form long right-angled downwardly-extending arms, the lower ends of which are again bent at right angles and journaled in suitable bearings in the sills A A.

H is a pulley or sprocket-wheel secured upon a shaft, I, which is journaled in bearingsJ upon the sills A A; and a rope or chain, J, is secured to the periphery of said pulley, passing over the sheave E and-under the platform F, where it issecured either to the shafts G G or to the said platform, or to both. The end of shaft I which is journaled in the sill A is provided with a fixed ratchet-wheel, L, and a handdever, M, which is journaled upon said shaft. Said lever M has a pivoted springpawl, N,.which engages the ratchet-wheel L.

The body of the pawl is connected to the short arm of a tripping-lever, O, by a wire or rod, P, said tripping-lever being pivoted upon the main lever M. Upon the inner side of sill A is pivoted another pawl, Q, with a spring, R, and the sill Ais provided near the end of the shaft I with bearings for the shaft of another hand-lever, S,whieh shaft, upon itsinnerend, has a projection which is adapted to trip the pawl Q. That end of the shaft I which is journaled in sill A is provided with a disk or drum, T, which has a band, U, which may be made of metal. One end of said band is secured to an upright, V, which is secured to the sill A, while the other end of said band is fastened to the short arm of a handlever, W, which has a spring-pawl, X, and a trippinglever, Y, with a connecting-rod, Y, for disengaging pawl X from a toothed rack, Z.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, the operation of the device can readily be understood. \Vhen it is desired to raise a loadsuch as boxes, barrels, &c.to the door of a freight-car, the platform Fis lowered in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and when the load is placed upon the platform all that is necessary is to work the lever M back and forth, when the pawl N will engage the ratchet-wheel L, and thus at each forward stroke, the shaft I with the pulley or sprocket-wheel H, will be revolved,and the rope or chainwinding around said pulley, the platform will be raised, moving in an arc the radius of which is the length of the downward-extending arms of shafts G G, and when the lever M is worked and the ratchet-wheel turns, the spri ng-pawl Q catches back of each tooth upon said wheel, thus holding the wheel from turning backward. The lever M is worked until the platform has reached the desired height. When it is desired to lower a load, the brake-lever \V of the drum-band Umay be drawn and the small tripping-lever 0 upon the hand-lever M depressed to disengage the pawl N, and thelever S being shifted the pawl Q, will be disengaged and the load may be lowered gradually by the manipulation of the brakelever \V.

Having thus described our invention, we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States 1. The combination of the sills, the crossbeams, the shaft having the pulley or sprocketwheel, the rope or chain attached to said pulley, the upright secured to one of the crossbeams and carrying a sheave. the platform mounted upon bearing-arms,and the pawlandratchet mechanism for applying a rotary motion to the shaft, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and set forth.

2. The combination of the sills, the crossbeams, the shaft having the pulley or sprocketwheel, the rope or chain attached to said pulley, the upright secured to one of the crossbeams and carrying a sheave, the platform 

